Value Investing Guru Donald Yacktman’s Favorite Stock Picks For Q4

#3 Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ:FOXA)

– Shares Owned by Yacktman Asset Management (as of September 30): 40.61 Million

– Value of Holding (as of September 30): $1.10 Billion

Moving on, Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ:FOXA) is the only stock among Yacktman Asset Management’s top five equity holdings at the end of September in which the fund increased its stake during the third quarter. Amid a 16.6% decline that Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ:FOXA)’s stock suffered during the July-September period, the fund ended up purchasing an additional 2.43 million shares of the company. For the first quarter of fiscal year 2016, the company reported EPS of $0.38 on revenue of $6.08 billion. Analysts had expected the company to report EPS of $0.38 on revenue of $6.42 billion. Following the earnings release, analysts at Pacific Crest reiterated their ‘Overweight’ rating on the stock, while increasing their price target on it to $35 from $32. Vinit Bodas‘ Deccan Value Advisors also increased its stake in Twenty-First Century Fox, by nearly 1.6 million shares to over 4.0 million shares during the third quarter.

#2 PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP)

– Shares Owned by Yacktman Asset Management (as of September 30): 17.8 Million

– Value of Holding (as of September 30): $1.68 Billion

PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) continued to remain Yacktman Asset Management’s second-largest holding at the end of September, even though the fund reduced its stake in the company by 4.5 million shares during the third quarter. The stock of PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE:PEP) has remained more or less range-bound throughout 2015 and currently trades 3.7% in the green year-to-date. Recently, the company entered into the smartphone space by launching its first mobile phone ‘Pepsi P1’ in the Chinese market. For the third quarter, the company reported EPS of $1.26 on revenue of $16.30 billion, compared to EPS of $1.29 on revenue of $17.22 billion that it reported for the same quarter last year. The world’s largest hedge fund, Ray Dalio‘s Bridgewater Associates, increased its stake in PepsiCo, Inc. by 229,194 shares to 290,403 shares during the July-September period.

#1 Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG)

– Shares Owned by Yacktman Asset Management (as of September 30): 27.85 Million

– Value of Holding (as of September 30): $2.0 Billion

Finally, during the third quarter, Yacktman Asset Management reduced its stake in consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) by 790,244 shares, though the company remained the fund’s top equity holding at the end of the period. Shares of Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) have declined gradually throughout 2015 and have lost 18.8% so far this year. On November 11, the company announced that it acquired exclusive rights to develop new products with ‘Niagen’, which is a fast-growing dietary supplement that’s said to have remarkable anti-aging properties. On October 23, the company reported mixed numbers for its first quarter of fiscal year 2016. While the Street was expecting it to report EPS of $0.94 on revenue of $17.35 billion, it reported EPS of $0.98 on revenue of $16.50 billion. On November 2, analysts at Canaccord Genuity reiterated their ‘Hold’ rating and $82 price target on the stock. Similar to its stake in The Coca-Cola Co, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway also continued to maintain its massive stake of nearly 52.8 million shares of Procter & Gamble Co as of the end of September.

Disclosure: None